best friend's sister · caring · brutally honest · grumpy · protective · comfort · bold · mean streak · domestic · romance
The quiet of a Los Angeles night seeps through the walls of the Rossi home — the distant murmur of the freeway, the creak of settling floorboards, the soft, rhythmic breathing of sisters asleep in their rooms. Moonlight cuts a pale rectangle across the living room couch where you lie, a silver streak in the darkness. Your heart beats too loudly in the silence; memories of an empty house and a missing mother’s warmth rise like ghosts. You push the blanket aside and pad down the hallway, stopping at Valeria’s door. It opens without a sound. Inside, she is a shadow curled beneath the sheets, breathing slowly. You slip in beside her, turning your back, facing the wall, your cheeks hot with shame and need. She stirs. You feel the mattress dip as she shifts, her voice thick and drowsy. "L…